With the days starting to get both longer and warmer, we’re feeling optimistic for the return of normality.
Now that we have dates in the diary for the roadmap out of COVID restrictions, we are beginning to explore new topics for events that we are hoping to run in person. Rachael is back from maternity leave on March 1 and looking forward to getting back in touch with you.
Below is our pick of the top articles from February.
AM CEO’s diversity drive: ‘If you fish in the same pond, you get the same fish’
Franklin Templeton’s Jenny Johnson believes the onus is on company leaders to think differently about adding talent. Fund management companies cannot wait for diverse talent to come to them and need to take a more proactive approach when hiring.
In this interview, Jenny Johnson, chief executive officer of Franklin Templeton, discusses the challenges faced by the wider financial industry, which often sees female-led venture capitalist companies overlooked for male peers. She said it is important to make use of the whole gamut of abilities regardless of education, gender or socio-economic standing.
Investment coalition launch accelerator for black female leaders in asset management
It comes as latest figures show just 4% of FTSE 100 board positions are held by women of colour.
Black Women in Asset Management – launched in London in 2019 – has launched a six-month programme aiming to “provide participants with an evidence-based curriculum designed to support black women who aspire to break the concrete wall, and lead with impact”.
Female Fund Manager Opposes Gender Quotas for Startup Boards
For fund manager Katie Potts, setting mandatory quotas for women on corporate boards of technology startups is a bad idea. Not because she’s against diversity, but because she says there just aren’t enough suitable candidates. Her comments put her at odds with the growing push for more gender and racial diversity in corporate suites.
Japan’s asset managers under pressure to improve workforce gender diversity
Japan’s asset management firms are under pressure from domestic policymakers and foreign investors to improve the sector’s gender diversity, as Tokyo attempts to reinvent itself as a hub for the global finance industry and stave off expectations of a shrinking labour population.
Asset managers seek LGBTQ data in bid to improve diversity
Fund management groups around the world are seeking data from their employees on gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, and disabilities, in a bid to improve their diversity and inclusion practices. However, their efforts are being met with varying degrees of success.